1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to a hypersonic wind tunnel used to test the aerodynamic properties of various surfaces.
2 Description of The Related Art
Various wind tunnels have been constructed in order to test aerodynamic surfaces at hypersonic speeds. In continuous flow supersonic tunnels, air is recirculated around a loop containing a large compressor, a heat exchanger, a (1749-1832) inlet nozzle, a test section, and an outlet con-di diffuser. An inherent problem with such devices is that the compressor and heat exchanger require excessive power to compensate for velocity drag losses from shock waves and boundary layers. The power required by the compressor and heat exchanger may be on the order of hundreds of mega watts just to maintain test section mach numbers of less than 10.
Another known wind tunnel is the intermittent supersonic tunnel in which high or low pressure is provided on one side of the test section causing a surge of gas through the test section. In a shock tube driven wind tunnel high pressure gas is released into a low pressure section and the resulting gas flow is directed through a test section to the atmosphere. An atmospheric inlet wind tunnel has atmosphere pressure on one side of the test section and a vacuum on the other side; the vacuum pulls gas through the test section. In a blow down wind tunnel a high pressure gas in a storage tank is released for passage through a test section and then to the atmosphere.
An inherent problem with intermittent supersonic tunnels is that hypersonic mach numbers can only be achieved for very short test periods (order of seconds). In addition, these tunnels generally are incapable of achieving high mach numbers.
The instant invention has overcome many of the disadvantages of the prior art by providing an improved method of and a hypersonic wind tunnel for testing aerodynamic surfaces.